Granzin's has been in business ever since I have lived in Comal County (going on 20 years) and then some. Though it is 30 miles from my house, I make it a point to get here from time to time, particularly for their baby back ribs. Oh, by-the-way, if you let them know a week in advance, they can get you a dressed piglet for $3 to $4 per pound depending on the size. For more information, go to granzinsmeatmarket.com.
Granzin's is located on McQueeney Road just off of I-35 in New Braunfels. Take the Walnut exit and travel the I-35 access road north to McQueeney. Also, there is one off of I-10 in Seguin on Kingsbury Street. My guess is that the Seguin location has the same great meats.
Dried Sausage:
Granzin's dries their own sausage and jerky. It's an old medieval preservative practice that still works today.
Before refrigeration, sausage was made from junk meat for the peasant working class. It was well seasoned and dried to preserve the meat since they could hardly afford fresh meat.
And those methods still works today, except that sausage today commands a more premium price since refrigeration has made other cuts available to the working class.
The Holy Grail of Barbecue:
Tri-Cut is a preferred cut of beef in Texas for barbecue. You will pay more for this cut than others, but the flavor is worth it.
At Granzin's, they let you pick out the piece you want. Here is the same tri-cut to show you how little fat there is on my piece.
Fajita Meat:
This was once junk meat on a cow. Very stringy and not wanted by the wealthy. So the resourceful working class figured out how to cook it. Now it is one of the more popular restaurant menu items in Central and South Texas. If you are looking to cook fajitas, here is a suggestion. Squeeze lime juice on the meat before grilling. Lime juice acts as a tenderizer and flavor enhancer. No, the meat won't taste like limes, but it will taste better. Some people beat the fajitas with a hammer before cooking. But the limes work well enough for me.
Breakfast Links:
Granzin's makes its own sausage. You name it, they make it. My favorite is their breakfast links. Grill or fry these links and they will go well with home-made pancakes or biscuits.
Less Than $40 Worth of Meat!
If you have a freezer, then come here and stock up. Great meat, lean meat for reasonable prices. All of what I have listed below cost me less than $40.
Baby Back Ribs:
Look how meaty and very little fat. I prefer regular price here than the stuff that's on sale in the local groceries. Granzin's ribs make for a great barbecue. I'll season them with a rub and then coat the ribs with Dale's Steak Seasoning (www.dalesseasoning.com).
Rouladen Steaks:
My wife Vilma will take these steaks, pound them, then pan fries them with onions. Great Cuban food with black beans and rice.
Pork Tips:
Look how lean this stuff is. This is about 2.5 pounds of meat. I'll cut these tips into smaller bite sizes and use them in a jambalaya. In a later post, I'll show you how to do a jambalaya.
Boneless Chicken Thighs:
Here is another part of my jambalaya. The thighs as well will be chopped into bite-size pieces. This is about two pounds of meat.
Shrimp! Yes, Granzin's Has Shrimp!
This shrimp has that fresh smell like it recently came off a boat in Corpus. The kind of shrimp freshness, one finds in a Chinese restaurant.
Shrimp in the Shell:
That's a little over a pound of shrimp. These are jumbo shrimp, and jumbo I grill. Grilled shrimp is a great way to have good taste and eat lean at the same time.
Shrimp after Peeling:
Here is the same mess of shrimp peeled. Unless I'm boiling shrimp, I generally peel them as soon as I get home. The only other exception is that when they have heads on them, I keep the shrimp as is for barbecue shrimp. The fat behind the shrimp head is an important ingredient for barbecue shrimp.
